Therapy of herpes simplex keratitis with antimetabolites is effective under specified conditions, but is limited only to acute epithelial (dendritic) types of ulceration. It is also limited by virus strain susceptibility to a given drug and by the patient's persistent adherence to dose schedules. Antimetabolite therapy has no value for stromal ulceration, conjunctivitis, uveitis, disciform keratitis and other chronic or systemic conditions. Recent advances in the fields of lipid chemistry and membrane biophysics have developed liposome technology whereby liposome structures (artificial membrane vesicles) can be used as effective vehicles to transport selected therapeutic agents intracellularly. Furthermore, they now can be selectively targeted to infected or malignant tissues. This project will deal with the specific targeting of therapeutic agents such as antimetabolites, competitive nutrient analogues, interferon, etc., to rabbit corneal epitheliu, keratocytes, conjunctival fibrocytes, uveal structures and retinal tissues. More importantly, liposome technology together with recent and past developments demonstrating that recovery and prevention of herpetic keratitis is controlled by cell-mediated immunity and antibody dependent cell-mediated immunity, makes it important to reconsider immune mechanisms for use in control of herpes virus dendritic keratitis but also for control of herpetic infections of all ocular structures. Since liposomes can also be used to transport macromolecules selectively to specific targets, they will be used for transport of antiviral immune components to ocular tissues. Initial trials will be to control corneal epithelial infections in cell culture by binding antiviral IgG or F(ag')2 covalently to the liposome surface along with similar immune components specific for epithelial receptor antigens. This phase will be followed by in vivo applications of antibody conjugated liposomes for various ocular tissues. This project will also be involved with other viral ocular infections of specific interest and liposome transport of virus into cells.